About NEXT Church

NEXT Church is a network of leaders — church members, ruling elders, youth leaders, educators, pastors, seminarians and professors — across the Presbyterian Church (USA) who believe the church of the future will be more relational, more diverse, more collaborative, more hopeful and more agile. We provide hopeful space for robust conversations about the theology, culture, and the practice of ministry, support strong, faithful leadership in a time of adaptive change, and encourage collaboration and creativity across congregations and geographies. We are fostering a conversation about how to follow Christ in our particular day and age. We are a movement seeking to strengthen the relational fabric of the PC(USA) so that our congregations are strong and healthy enough to be a sustained, effective, faithful and moral voice that is engaged in the transformation of our communities toward the common good.

We host a national gathering each year, curate online conversation about the practice of ministry, and are available for preaching and teaching in regional and local settings throughout the year. Each of these settings allows us to carry out these reflective conversations on culture and ministry as well as make and deepen connections in the church.

Going forward, we are focusing our efforts in three main areas:

Support & Equip Congregations

God calls and equips local congregations for transformation: gathering people in Christ-centered community, and dispersing them into the world to seek justice, peace, and reconciliation. Informed by that conviction, NEXT Church strengthens congregations by connecting their leaders to one another, to creative and challenging ideas, and to best practices.

Develop Leaders

Thriving congregations result from strong leadership. Strong leaders are formed through training, practice, and accountability. Through its national gatherings, peer groups, electronic resources and trainings, NEXT Church is developing leaders who are courageous, theologically centered, and practically equipped to navigate the changing cultural contexts into which God sends the Church. We prioritize relationships as essential to ministries that fuel reconciliation in the world.

Strengthen Connections Across the Denomination

Strong connections sustain vibrant and diverse ministries, and NEXT Church treasures the blessings of our Reformed tradition and connectional polity. Where existing structures, systems, and practices no longer adequately equip and connect the leaders and congregations of the PC(USA), we seek to nurture transformation. Locally and nationally, NEXT Church models and creates opportunities for collaboration, truth-telling, deep listening, and action.